The invention relates to a business model for using the world wide web to provide and disseminate a central data base of stolen goods, missing goods, recovered goods, missing persons, fugitives and activate automated recovery devices, and utilize publicity and public awareness for the database. The invention further provides automated notification, automated temporary or permanent replacement of items, and optionally using e-commerce and/or electronic auctions for replacement.
Currently the Law Enforcement Agencies do not have a worldwide database for stolen items or assets, much less a single national or global database. Typically a police report is taken and only physically filed which includes information pertaining to the stolen assets. If the reporting party has the serial number, the serial number is distributed on a teletype. A majority of smaller sized stolen items (cameras. jewelry, musical instruments, tools, firearms, etc.) are dispersed through pawnshops. Pawnshops are required to report all items taken in by using a method such as one commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cPawn Trackxe2x80x9d. Pawn dealers are not provided a database of stolen or missing assets which they can use to determine the proper ownership of assets prior to accepting them for pawn. The recovery of stolen items distributed through pawnshops is low. Once a pawn broker fronts money for an item, if the item is determined to be stolen, the victim is required to pay the pawn broker the amount the pawn broker fronted. The current process places the recovery in a post-mortem position. The current situation presents a grim picture for recovery and return of stolen or missing items.
Flea Markets and Pawnshops provide an easy outlet to distribute goods. Pawnshops are somewhat regulated and required to provide lists of received items as described above. Flea Markets are not regulated and particularly difficult to police for stolen goods, as are other unregulated outlets such as art shows, gun shows, outdoor sporting good shows, hobby shows, or other exhibitions. These unregulated sales outlets present opportunities for persons to distributed goods having unknown backgrounds.
There is currently no single worldwide place to advertise stolen goods/missing goods, fugitives, missing persons, and other types of found items. There are several companies that utilize public records to locate persons. When a person is trying to avoid being found, the use of public records often becomes futile.
Publications, including newspapers, periodicals, and magazines are limited to a printed media, whereby the media does not provide a continuing database. Publications are limited to providing the information for a limited time period. Newspaper classified sections include a lost and found section, but no stolen goods section. The consumer is required to phone or fax in an advertisement, which is placed in queue for printing and finally distributed at a later date. The newspaper advertisements are limited to text, whereby pictures would greatly enhance the recovery effort. Newspapers are also limited to the regions in which the newspaper is distributed. Printing and distribution of the newspapers is costly, utilizes natural or recycled resources, and energy.
Photographs and information related to missing persons are often distributed through milk cartons or prints. Photographs and information related to fugitives are generally printed and posted at the US post office. These are generally limited to geographic regions in which authorities feel these persons can be located.
For stolen goods, the police provide a list (an example is referred to as Pawn Track) of stolen goods primarily for identification of stolen goods for Pawnshops to compare goods against. The list is dispersed weekly to police departments and Pawnshops with less frequent updates.
A television show xe2x80x9cAmerica""s Most Wantedxe2x80x9d illustrates the advantages of taking police wanted lists public and using the public to track the wanted persons. The show presents individual cases of wanted persons re-enacting the crime and presenting the possible paths of the fugitives.
A television show xe2x80x9cUnsolved Mysteriesxe2x80x9d illustrates the advantages of taking missing persons or other unsolved scenarios public and using the public to resolve the unsolved scenario.
Insurance companies or individuals generally provide a reward upon the recovery of the goods.
Recovery systems, such as LoJack(trademark) are currently available, where the user would notify the proper agency to activate a homing device located within the object.
The Inventors are not aware of prior art systems that allow for the victim (individual, insurance company, or others) to promote the loss immediately and as expansively as possible, using existing media, preferably within one location or access point. None of the prior art systems support potential changes to the current processes whereby the present invention would provide a mechanism for a proactive approach to increasing the risk for return and limiting the distribution of stolen assets. None of the prior art systems provide for an inquiring user to access the database from virtually any location using many known methods to determine the background of an item. The same can be applied to missing persons and fugitives.
Further, none of the prior art systems allow one to remove unnecessary personal interface requirements to notify the insurance company, file a claim, provide a police report, and receive either the claim value, a temporary replacement, or a permanent replacement. It is desirable for the insurance company to replace the stolen or missing item at the lowest cost.
The inventor is aware of several patents that propose potential systems and techniques. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,299,116 to Owens, et al.; 5,424,944 to Kelly et al.; 5,748,083 to Rietkerk; 5,841,116 to Lewis; 5,878,416 to Harris et al.; 5,912,947 to LangenKamp et al.; and 5,955,952 to Bergman et al.
The ""952 patent to Bergman et al. refers to a xe2x80x9cmethod and system for locating a lost person or lost personal propertyxe2x80x9d and mentions the xe2x80x9cworld wide webxe2x80x9d, column 4, lines 52+. However, the patent systems is limited to only being able to show xe2x80x9cthe photograph (of a missing person) . . . on a world wide web page on the internet: and not to complete a business model for the recovery of stolen goods, missing persons or fugitives,: that overcomes all of the problems with the prior systems and techniques previously described.
The first objective of the present invention is to utilize the internet (or similar) as a portal for providing a data base for stolen items.
The second objective of the present invention is the ability for the lossee (or other interested party) to promote and publish the stolen item (loss) immediately.
The third objective of the present invention is to immediately disseminate information globally pertaining to lost goods.
The fourth objective of the present invention is to promote unsolved scenarios, such as hit and run s, thefts, homicides, and other suspicious events in which law enforcement have an interest.
The fifth objective of the present invention is to automatically notify an insurance company (or other party of interest) of a loss, whereby the insurance company could initiate claim proceedings.
The sixth objective of the present invention is for a web portal to provide e-commerce solutions to temporarily or permanently replace the subject items.
The seventh objective of the present invention is for a web portal to provide auctions, reverse auctions, and competitive shopping analysis for insurance companies to provide replacement items at the lowest cost. Since the claim can provide an adequate description of the subject item, the replacement process can be self-generating.
The eighth objective of the present invention is to automatically provide direct email to a claimant from either a web site providing a list of business alliances and pricing comparisons for replacement items, directly from a business alliance of a web portal, or other party interested in replacing the item.
The ninth objective of the present invention is the ability to provide targeted banner advertising during each web page view, whereby the advertisement can be based upon the category or subject of the item or items listed, and can include the type of insurance that can be utilized, the type of item being listed, or other.
The tenth objective of the present invention is to provide instant access anywhere, as the internet can be accessed via modems using land lines, via publicly located internet access devices, portable internet access devices (wireless), or any other means for delivering and receiving information from a central database of stolen goods, missing goods, recovered goods, missing persons, fugitives, or activation of automated recovery devices
The eleventh objective of the present invention is a means that can be downloaded to computing devices, placed on portable storage media such as floppy disks, compact disks, or printed for those not having access to computers or the internet.
The twelfth objective of the present invention is to categorize listings using any of various categories, including but not limited to item classification, location, date, method of loss (stolen or lost). Examples of the item classification would be jewelry, photography equipment, vehicles, bicycles, clothing, fine art, firearms, sporting goods, etc. Other examples would be using terms of common usage or standards already subjected within the industry, such as MPR for missing persons report. The classifications can be further utilized for determining the respective advertisements in conjunction with the category being viewed.
The thirteenth objective of the present invention is to provide a means where the individual recovering the goods and the party seeking the goods can correspond, or utilize the agency for anonymity, whereby a case or ID number would be assigned to a particular posting.
The fourteenth objective of the present invention is to provide a service whereby the internet site operating agency can act as an agent for the party seeking return of the goods for immediate correspondence with the party recovering the goods.
The fifteenth objective of the present invention is to provide an operating agency to acquire income based upon posting fees, rewards, and awards from the party seeking return of goods.
The sixteenth objective of the present invention is to subsidize income through advertisements posted on the web portal site and/or seek contributions from parties impacted.
The seventeenth objective of the present invention is to act as an agent for replacing items by competitive bids, reverse auctions, and other method of using e-commerce to purchase replacement items at a lowest possible cost. It would be recognized that alliances would benefit from this process.
The eighteenth objective of the present invention is to utilize the public as a primary agent for finding the missing goods through listings available on a web portal site.
The nineteenth objective of the present invention is to provide a finder""s fee to a party which returns lost goods.
The twentieth objective of the present invention is to disseminate information on missing goods and missing persons quickly and at a low cost.
The twenty-first objective of the present invention is to allow all police agencies to utilize a single system on lost goods and missing persons.
The twenty-second objective of the present invention is to use web site(s) to activate a recovery system.
The twenty-third objective of the present invention is to utilize an electronic circuit, an integrated circuit sometimes referred to as a computer chip or other recovery circuit for tracking items, whereby the circuit can be activated by a signal transmitted via any of many known methods, or for verification of ownership.
The twenty-fourth objective of the present invention is to globally provide a database for registration of ownership of objects, tracking ownership for objects, particularly those which can interface with computers and/or the internet. The object can include an electronic serial number which is compared to the data base for owner verification. Examples of such goods are digital cameras, computers, and personal data assistants. An example includes providing a serial number when storing information on a device. Upon reading the stored information, the serial number can be compared against a registration site on the internet. One example would be a digital camera, storing a serial number with each picture. Manufacturers and vendors would provide a means to track and register items for such things as warranties and theft.
The twenty-fifth objective of the present invention is for all respective parties to maintain anonymity for protection of all parties involved with missing persons or lost goods, whereby the primary purpose of the system is to provide a means for recovering items and finding missing persons.
The twenty-sixth objective of the present invention is to post found items, including those located by authorities during recover- operations for natural disasters such as storms, earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods.
The twenty-seventh objective of the present invention is to attract and maintain users to view a web site using promotional tactics such as giveaways and auctions for items such as confiscated goods, and the like.
The internet/world wide web provides a vast medium for providing information and interactions between individuals. The internet has the capability to present multimediums, including but not limited to photographs, drawings, text, video, and audio. The internet allows anyone to disseminate information immediately providing real time access for the world to view. The internet provides for free or low cost distribution of information. A user can view the information on a display, download the information to a computing device, and print the information. Computers and the internet provide a variety of methods for searching through large data bases in a expeditious manner.
Public accessible internet terminals are being placed, whereby a user can access the internet using methods similar to a public or pay telephone.
Wireless media technology provides access to the internet and will continue to advance to provide more methods to access this distribution media. These advances will allow users to access the internet from virtually anywhere at anytime.
E-commerce provides for secured purchasing of items using the internet. The internet further provides a medium for electronic auctions. These auctions can be provided in either standard or reverse formats, as provided by such companies as E-Bay and Priceline, respectively.
The internet provides an automated means whereby a web site can post a request for price quotes for a subject item and associated e-commerce businesses can bid for the sale. The internet would provide open bidding whereby the companies would be presented the details and the lowest price of the subject item.
Email provides a mechanism for electronically transferring information. Email further provides the ability to include enclosures or attachments. It is also well understood that email can be automatically generated based upon some automated initiator.